Who Knew by Nathalia

Who Knew by Nathalia - November 2023 Scholarship Essay

I want to go to college to make my parents proud and learn more about my career path. I have always been told that I will need to go to college. My parents always had this expectation of me and my siblings since they immigrated to the U.S. My older siblings didn’t go to college, so my thoughts went to the point that I don’t need to go to college, since my siblings are doing fine without a degree. Most people go to college to make their parents proud, to get a higher education, to network. Everyone has different reasons why they want to go to college, but they are all very similar.
Making my parents proud is something that I always want to do, even when they are already proud of me for what I have accomplished. They like to brag a lot about what I’ve done, but I feel like I need to finish college, before I feel like they can be proud of me. I am currently studying computer science. It is a very hard major, but it is very fulfilling in the end. I see how hard it is with two of my current classes, but I feel like if I start giving up now, it will not be worth the money my dad has already put in.
College is also a good place to meet new people and make good connections with students, professors, and companies during career fairs. I want to be able to meet new people that are in my career. I have done an internship in my city with my school district; however, I am in a new city and would like to connect with the professors around me and see the different companies that come to the career fairs or the conference talks. College for me is a great way to expand my connections and experiences in and out of school. Being in a new city gives me more independence than living with my parents and having them there to do more than half of what I’m doing now.
College is a great time to be able to experience things without the backing of an adult and become independent and learn from error and improve oneself. I want to go to college to see who I truly am as a person, and experience different challenges that can arise. Who knew, that in the end I would go even after my siblings didn’t.